Mae: Because it’s only a week.
Nana: That’s more time than you think.
Mae: Not really.
Nana: Is he dreamy?
Mae: Nana!
Nana: Just tell me.
Mae: It would not be inaccurate to say that he’s dreamy.
Nana: Listen…
Mae: ?
Nana: Sometimes it’s good for you.
Mae: What?
Nana: To be spectacularly stupid.
Mae sets her phone down when Hugo slides back into his seat. “Hey,” she says. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure,” he says as he pours more syrup over his waffles.
Now that she’s started this, she’s not entirely sure how to proceed. “Was Margaret…,” she says, and he snaps his head up, looking startled. “Were you two…?”
“What?”
“You were in love, right?”
“Yeah,” he says, lowering his fork. “We were.”
“So what happened?”
He looks uncomfortable. “We just grew apart, I suppose. We’d been together a long time, and something had gotten a bit lost, and…Why do you want to talk about Margaret?”
“I’m just curious.”
“I’d rather talk about you.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Well, I’m curious whether there have been many…”
She frowns at him. “What?”
“Waffles,” he says, then lets out a slightly nervous laugh. “What do you think?Blokes.”
“I wouldn’t call itmany,” she says. “But there have been a few.”
“No boyfriend, though?”
“Not currently.”
He raises his eyebrows, waiting for more.
